The Raft Simile and Its Interpretation

In the mid-90s, I visited Master Sheng Yen at his temple in Corona, New York. My wife told me that many students from Columbia University have brought to Master Sheng Yen perplexing questions that they struggled to find an answer. At my wife’s suggestion, I paid the master a consultation visit which turned out to be tremendously helpful. My main question was: Is there absolute truth in Buddhism?

This question arose due to the fact that I have engaged in interfaith dialogues with Christians for many years. Many Christians regard the messages in the Bible as absolute truth. I wanted to know if Buddha regarded his teachings in the same way — as absolute truth. Sheng Yen’s answer was a definitive “No.” From hindsight, the Raft Simile supports such an answer. It also suggests that Buddhism was not a religion during its early years.

Buddhism is unlike any of the other world religions due to its lack of dogmatism. Why is Buddhism so special? We can’t understand this until we have a deep understanding of the Raft Simile. This simile is a profound parable that illustrates how Buddha regarded his own teachings and the importance of not clinging to even the most useful and cherished spiritual teachings and practices. The parable goes as follows:

“Suppose, monks, there is a man journeying on a road and he sees a vast expanse of water of…